Improvement in thill-fastenings



S, S. MEIL'Y.

Thin-Coupling.

No. 41,524. Patented Feb. 9, 1864 fl ZuenZaz;

NFETERS, PHOTO-LITMOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL S. MEILY, OF LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN THILL-FASTE NINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 11,524, dated February 9, 1864.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. MEILY, of Lebanon, county of Lebanon, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Thin-Fastening; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings,making a part of this specification, in which Figurel is a perspective view of my invention, showing a portion of a thill attached to the eyes of the clip-strap. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of same. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section representing the hinged fastening in two positions. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the bolt and hinged fastening detached from the clip-strap.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention relates to an improved device for connecting the thills of vehicles to the clip-straps which are secured to the axles, whereby I dispense with nut-fastenings and still preserve a firm and positive hold on each end of the pivot-bolt, which will effectually prevent a casual displacement of said bolt, and which will at the same time admit of the thills being readily detached at pleasure, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a clip-strap having eyes a a formed on its forward part, which project up perpendicularly on each side of it, leaving between them a space of sufficient width to receive the enlarged perforated portion 11 of the thill-iron B between them, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

The clip-strap represented is of the common form but it may be constructed in any other form desired. All I require to carry my invention into effect are the eyes a a rigidly secured to an axle-tree in any suitable manner.

The enlarged horizontal eye portion b on the rear end of the thill-iron need not differ in any respect from those which are commonly formed on the thills of vehicles which are at tached to their clip-eyes by means of bolts and nuts.

Grepresents abolt which passes transversely through the eyes a a and enlargement b, and forms the pivot-fastening for the thills. This bolt is formed with a square enlargement, c, on one end, which fits into a corresponding opening made through the eye a, and thus prevents the bolt from rotating when in place. The opposite end of boltOhas avertical-faced tenon, d, formed on it, which tenon projects through the eye a, and the intermediate portion of the bolt 0, or that which passes through the enlarged portion 1) of the thill-iron,is made cylindrical, so as to form a pintle or pivot joint for the thill. The square end of this bolt (3 has a perpendicular standard, f, formed on it outside of the eye a, and to the upper end of f a loop, D, is pivoted at '5. (Shown clearly in Figs. 3 and 4.) The opposite end of this loop -fastening is bent downward and forked, as shown at Figs. 1 and 4, for the purpose of receiving between its prongs the tenoned end d of the bolt 0 when the parts are all in place. Thislooped fastening being pivoted at i to one end of the bolt, its opposite or hooked end can be raised sufficiently far to admit its forked end to pass over the eyes a a and thill-eye b, as indicated in red lines, Fig. 3, and in this manner the bolt can be readily withdrawn or introduced into its place; but when the loop is drawn in its place, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4:, it partially encompasses the tenoned end of the bolt 0 and forms a perfect fastening for preventing this bolt from moving endwise, or the loop from being jarred or bent out of place laterally. To keep this loop down in place and prevent the jar incident to its practical use from causing its displacement, I apply a fiat spring, h, to the pivoted end in such manner as to force it down in its place. This spring h will yield and allow the free end of the loop to be manipulated, as above described.

By forking the verticalv end of the loop D, as above described, it' is not only confined in place laterally by the bolt 0, but it forms a wide bearing on each side of the tenon d,which will act in conjunction with the opposite enlarged end of the bolt to prevent this bolt from casually slipping either way out of its place and detaching the thills. Instead of forking the lo0p,as above described,and forming atenon on the bolt to receive the fork, the free end of the loop may be made to slip into an eye or fork formed on the small end of the l with a bolt, 0, constructed with an enlarged bolt, which would be the reverse of the aboveshoulder on one end, adapted to enter eye (1, described plan, but which would operate suband a tenon, d, on the opposite end adapted to stant-ially in the same manner. receive and to form a lateral support for the Having thus described my invention, What free end of the loop,substantially as described. I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters 3. The combination of clip-eyes a a, bolt 0,

Patent, is thill-eye b, and 1oop-fastening D, constructed 1. The application of looped fastening D to and operating substantially as described. the removable coupling-bolt O, substantially 1 SAMUEL S. MEILY. as described. g Witnesses: I

2. A pivoted spring-looped fastening, D, JOB REINooHE,

constructed with a forked end, in combination SAMUEL HAUOK. 

